FSU Janitor Accused of Stealing Thousands of Dollars in Electronics

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- An FSU janitor is accused of stealing thousands of dollars worth of electronics from a campus building.

FSU Police say that two Florida State employees reported the theft of several electronic items over several months. In following up with police on July 23, one of the employees told investigators that the only person with a key to her office was a custodial worker by the name of William Wilkins.

Investigators installed a motion activated camera system in her office to observe activity outside of regular business hours. With this footage, they witnessed Wilkins going through the employee's desk several times and checking the contents of an empty iPad box at one point.

When an investigator went to retrieve footage on August 15, he noticed that a brand new iPad that had been sitting on the employee's desk was gone. Police say that upon review of the footage, Wilkins had entered the office earlier that morning, picked up the iPad from the desk, placed it in his shirt and walked out of the office.

Police also say that Wilkins had been assigned to another floor at that point and had no reason to be on the first floor.

Wilkins was arrested at his residence without incident and told police that he stole 6-8 iPads, 6 Dell Laptops, a MacBook Pro, a Nyrius Aries Prime Wireless HD Transmitter and a Fire Pro W5000 graphics card. FSU Police say that the electronics were university property.

He also told police that he had been selling the items to another man he had met on Craigslist identified as Harpreet Singh, and that Singh had been shipping the items overseas to India.

Police say that while Wilkins had admitted to stealing 6-8 iPads, 6 dell laptops and a Macbook Pro, Williams Johnston building staff say that 10 iPads were stolen and only 1 Dell Laptop while no one had reported a MacBook pro as being stolen.

Wilkins is charged with 12 counts of Grand Theft, 1 count of Petit Theft and 13 counts of Dealing in Stolen Property. However, due to the conflicting reports of what was stolen, police say that more charges may be pending.

The total dollar amount of stolen items was valued at approximately $9010. Wilkins stated that he sold the iPads for approximately $250 to $350 each.

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